n honor of their vocalist Davey Bales, who tragically passed in January, Los Angeles renegade deathrockers The Wraith have released a video for the song “Toil,” from their critically acclaimed 2019 debut album Gloom Ballet (Southern Lord Recordings).
The “Toil” clip was self-filmed by the individual band members at the height of 2020 lockdown and edited by guitarist Kaz Alvis.
“Davey loved this video, but for various reasons it wasn’t released at the time,” Alvis explained. “We felt it would be a fitting tribute to fulfill his wish now.”
As well as band members’ homes, locations for the “Toil” video include a shuttered theater in North Hollywood and an abandoned mine in the San Gabriel Mountains. Additional footage of historic graveyards in England and Estonia was shot by friends of the band.
“This clip shows Davey at the height of his powers as a uniquely charismatic and compelling performer,” noted Wraith bassist Paul Rogers. “And some of his best lyrics, too.”
Bales was also an accomplished poet who released a string of his well-reviewed Dead Flowers chapbooks over recent years.
“Toil” is the third music video from Gloom Ballet, following clips for “Wing of Night” and “Ballad of Aeon.” The Wraith most recently made headlines with their distinctive reimagining of the UK Subs classic “Warhead,” released last year as a split cassette with UK horror punk legends Screaming Dead.
